WAUKESHA COUNTY, Wis. — The Waukesha County Sheriff's Office is the last county law enforcement department in southeast Wisconsin without any kind of body-worn or dash camera.
According to the Waukesha County Sheriff, despite the recent shooting death of a man in the Town of Eagle by deputies, he has no plans to change that.
Matthew Blankman was shot and killed Thursday in the Town of Eagle by the Waukesha County Sheriff's deputies. The shooting is now under investigation, but without the use of anybody or dash camera footage since the department doesn’t have them. When we asked Sheriff Eric Severson if he plans on getting body cameras this was his response.
"I would like to get a lot of resources to do a lot of things,” said Severson. "It is a financial issue.”
According to a 2020 Department of Justice survey, New Berlin Police, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, and the Waukesha County Sheriff's Office were the only law enforcement agencies in southeast Wisconsin without either dash cameras or body cameras.
In 2022, New Berlin got all their officers body cameras. In 2023, Washington County used a $377,000 federal grant and outfitted all deputies with body cameras. It is something the union for the Waukesha County Sheriff's Deputies says they want.
"It is 2024. I think the vast majority if not all of our deputies have been recorded on a traffic stop or something or 'hey, I'm recording this.' I think it is an avenue for the deputies to have their perspective rather than to have someone holding a camera up in their face,” said Grant Winchowky, president of the Waukesha Deputy Sheriff's Labor Union.
Costs for body-worn cameras vary around southeast Wisconsin. The City of Wauwatosa, which has 91 sworn officers, pays around $140,000 a year for its program, according to the city. The Dodge County Sheriff's Department says their costs are between $300-400,000 a year, mainly for cameras and video storage. They have 60 sworn officers.
We reached out to the Waukesha County Executive Paul Farrow whose office has authority over the sheriff's budget. He said in a statement:
"The cost of implementing a body and dash camera program in our County would be incredibly expensive and would certainly lead to a reduction of services either within, or outside of, the Sheriff's Department."
"It is a budgetary issue and obviously, the union isn't involved in that process but the majority of law enforcement officers in Waukesha County are in favor of it,” said Winchowky. "When a situation is unfolding and a situation occurs, the public can really see what our deputies are going through."
Waukesha County Executive Paul FarrowFull statement:
"In Waukesha County, several agencies have chosen to use either dash cameras, body cameras, or both during in their on-duty law enforcement activities. To date, the Waukesha County Sheriff’s Department has yet to utilize this technology. Should the Sheriff come forward with a budget request to begin using this technology, we would consider the financial implications of that decision. Any change into the County’s policy on the use of cameras would begin with our elected Sheriff. As County Executive, I have authority over the Sheriff Department’s annual budget. Funding our County’s justice and public safety needs is my number one priority. The cost of implementing a body and dash camera program in our County would be incredibly expensive and would certainly lead to a reduction of services either within, or outside of, the Sheriff’s Department. It is likely, therefore, that broad discussions of County funding priorities would be held with numerous stakeholders to determine the best path forward.”
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